GrubHub Co-Founder Would Rather Trump Loving Employees Resign

I get being upset that for the next four years we have to live with the fact that we’re the nation that made a reality TV huckster our president.

What I don’t get is when professionals abandon any sense of protocol and make demands on their workforce that are politically motivated.

Case in point would be Matt Maloney. He’s the CEO and co-founder of GrubHub, an online food ordering service. He sent a memo to his employees that was leaked out, and apparently went viral.

“While demeaning, insulting and ridiculing minorities, immigrants and the physically/mentally disabled worked for Mr. Trump, I want to be clear that this behavior – and these views, have no place at Grubhub,” Maloney wrote.

“Had he worked here, many of his comments would have resulted in his immediate termination.”

“I absolutely reject the nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can,” he continued.

“As we all try to understand what this vote means to us, I want to affirm to anyone on our team that is scared or feels personally exposed, that I and everyone else here at Grubhub will fight for your dignity and your right to make a better life for yourself and your family here in the United States,” he said.

“If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here,” Maloney added. “We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.”

Maloney was a supporter of Hillary Clinton, so like her other supporters, he may need a few days to process the shock.

I suppose a defense can be given for Maloney, that in his shock, he rushed out his memo and wasn’t as careful with the wording as he could have been.

I suppose you could make the stretch that he wasn’t telling his employees outright that if they were Trump supporters they needed to turn in their resignation. Rather, he may have been trying to convey that if they aligned with those views that he mentioned, in that event, they could turn in their resignation.

Either way, it’s not his job to be the thought police. It’s his job to run his company, and if the employees are doing their job, he should have no complaints.

Still, realizing that maybe his memo was in haste, and that the publicity it was drawing might not be healthy for his company, he adjusted his attitude, a bit.

“Some of the statements in my email have been misconstrued,” Maloney said in a statement. “I want to clarify that I did not ask for anyone to resign if they voted for Trump. I would never make such a demand.”

Maloney ended the letter to staff by saying that Trump “deserves our open minds and a chance to lead.”